A Waynesburg University professor was recently published in the online journal The Imaginative Conservative. Dr. William Batchelder, assistant professor of history, wrote an article that appeared in the journal Sept. 22.

The article, entitled “The Counsel of Despair? Albert J. Nock on Self-Government,” explores the ideas of political theorist Albert J. Nock, whose written works were widely published. Batchelder said Nock was a radical (a Libertarian in today’s terms) but saw no point in trying to convince others to align with his views, as he thought most people could not be educated.

“The question I posed is, ‘Why would he bother writing on political theory if he felt there was little to no chance of having any real-world impact?’” said Batchelder. “I think the answer is that Nock wrote these works out of a sense of duty to philosophy.”

Batchelder sent the article to The Imaginative Conservative after a writer he admires from Hillsdale College expressed interest in Nock. He expanded the article from a paper he presented at a conference earlier this year, and the revised version was approved and published by the journal.

Batchelder said he is pleased to be published in The Imaginative Conservative, as it appeals to a wide variety of Christians and Conservatives.

“It is a thoughtful, interesting website,” said Batchelder. “The website publishes on a broad spectrum of topics, and there is always something fun or provocative to read there.”

Batchelder has also been published in a peer-reviewed journal called Anamnesis and online at Nomocracy in Politics. He said the process of getting work published drives him to rethink the work he does with his students in the classroom, sharpening his knowledge and students’ experience.

Founded in 1849 by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Waynesburg University is located on a traditional campus in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, with three additional sites located in the Pittsburgh region. The University is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and is one of only 21 Bonner Scholar schools in the country, offering local, regional and international opportunities to touch the lives of others through service.

Elbridge Colby, the Robert M. Gates Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), will present his foreign policy address, “Why We Should Worry about China, and What We Can Do about It,” Thursday, Oct. 30 at 7: 30 p.m. in Alumni Hall on the third floor of Miller Hall.

“This is a unique opportunity to hear, in person, from someone who works at the very influential Center for a New American Security, which is a major Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank,” said Dr. William Batchelder, assistant professor of history at Waynesburg University.

In his position at CNAS, Colby focuses on strategic deterrence, nuclear weapons, conventional force, intelligence and related issues.

He has also served as the policy advisor to the Secretary of Defense’s Representative for the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, an expert advisor to the Congressional Strategic Posture Commission and a staff member on the President’s Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the U.S. Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction.

According to the WMD Commission Report, the WMD Commission was charged with assessing whether the Intelligence Community was sufficiently authorized to identify, warn and support U.S. government efforts to respond to resources associated with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and other related threats of the 21st century and their employment by foreign powers, including terrorists, terrorist organizations and private networks.

Colby has also worked with the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and the State Department.

For more information, contact Dr. Batchelder at 724-852-3331 or wbatchel@waynesburg.edu.